Battle of Waterloo Medal

One of my favorite medals.. produced in 1972. Only 5,000 silvers were made. They weigh about 4 troy ounces. 63mm. I only have 3 of these in the hoard.. 4,997 to go.



The Battle of Waterloo, which took place on June 18, 1815, was the final defeat of Napoleon after twenty-three years of war between France and the other major European countries. After his abdication as Emperor of France, Napoleon was banished to Elba in 1814. However, Napoleon managed to escape, returned to Paris, and forced Louis XVIII to flee, thus beginning his "one hundred days" back in power. His newly-restored position of power was to abruptly end with one final, decisive battle. The Battle was fought at Waterloo, nine miles south of Brussels, between Bonaparte's French army and the allied forces of the Duke of Wellington and the Prussians. Napoleon's legendary skill as a general failed him, as he made the fatal mistake of delaying the start until midday, hoping for drier ground. This delay allowed the Prussian troops under Field Marshal von Blücher to join Wellington's army. The Emperor and his marshals were unable to withstand the attack, losing 25,000 men. Napoleon was forced to abdicate for the second time four days later

Benedetto Pistrucci, a British medallist was commissioned to make a medal commemorating the victory over Napoleon at Waterloo. Due to his many other commissions Pistrucci was only able to finish engraving the dies in 1849, by which time all those for whom the medal was intended, with the exception of Wellington, had already died. The Waterloo medal is considered one of the rarest and most important pieces in the history of medallic art.

In 1816 Pistrucci was invited to submit designs for this medal which it was intended to strike in gold and give to the allied sovereigns, their ministers and generals. In August 1819, Treasury authority was given for the work to begin on the preparation of models. Unfortunately, due to a disagreement between Pistrucci and the Master of the Mint over the office of Chief Engraver, the work proceeded very slowly. Pistrucci felt that that office which had been given to William Wyon (who had been performing those duties for some time) should have gone to him. Pistrucci held the office of Chief Medallist to the King for which he received a salary of £300 a year plus another £50 for the instruction of a pupil, but nevertheless felt disgruntled at not being given the more senior position. In 1832 Lord Auckland, the then Master of the Mint, remonstrated with Pistrucci over the delay in producing the medal and Pistrucci requested an assurance that if he completed the medal his connections with the Mint would not be terminated. Lord Auckland would not give such an undertaking and once more the work lapsed. To make matters worse, the additional £50 that Pistrucci had been receiving as part of his salary, was withdrawn. Further queries were raised with Pistrucci in 1842, but again, arguments over the matter of salary delayed work. It was not until August 1844 that agreement over the salary was reached whereby it was raised from £300 to £350 a year and work upon the medal was resumed. In 1849, the Master of the Mint was able to report that the dies were complete, but by this time each of the four allied sovereigns depicted on the obverse (and no doubt many of the other intended recipients of the medal) were dead.

Because of the difficulty of hardening dies of the size required to strike the medal, Pistrucci made each die in two parts, an outer ring which fitted around a central die of 71mm. diameter. Each of these was to be hardened separately. Despite his suggestions, the dies were never hardened and only gutta-percha impressions and electrotypes were made. These sometimes occur joined together and the gutta-percha impressions are found in a black japanned metal case. The wax model for the medal is in the Mint Museum in Rome and the dies are in the Royal Mint Museum, London.

On the obverse are Conjoined busts (l) of King George IV of England, Emperor Francis I of Austria, Emperor Alexander I of Russia, and King Friederich Wilhelm III of Prussia. They are surrounded by allegorical and mythological allusions to the treaty of peace which resulted from the Battle of Waterloo. Apollo's chariot over the portraits and the fleeing chariot of Night below them heralds the victory of the forces of Good. To the right of Apollo are his companions, the goddess of the rainbow (Iris), and the god of the light wind (Zephyrus); to the left is the constellation of Gemini, Castor and Pollux, indicating the month of June when the battle took place. To the left and right of the central portraits are the figures of Justice (Themis) and Might (Hercules). The figure of Hercules is seated upon a rock above a cavern which suppresses the Furies who are no longer able to leave the Cimmerian caverns. The Fates are shown below the figure of Themis, indicating that in the future, human actions will be governed by justice alone. Lower down, are the goddesses of destiny (the Fates) and of vengeance (the Furies). They are on either side of the chariot of Night (the mother of the Fates), who is receding into darkness.

On the reverse the two horsemen in the center represent Blucher and Wellington. They are accompanied by Nike, the winged goddess of victory. Over them is the chariot of Zeus (the Thunderer), and below are twelve serpent-legged figures of titans personifying Europe's twelve-year struggle against Napoleon.

That is beautiful. How much is it worth?

Worth a bit more than melt.

I bought my first one at a local coin show for $35 right after reading a story about it in Numismatic News, Coin World, or The Numismatist. I had never expected to see one. When I saw it in the dealer's case I knew exactly what it was. I could never find the article again..

Had to pay quite a bit more for the next 2. They generally sell in the $150 to $200 range when offered on eBay.

I have one of the silver ones that I would probably trade you for a roll of silver quarters or a roll of halfs.

Let me know?